Christian Education

Schoolchildren in the Czech Republic study the Bible. Czech educational authorities consider knowledge of the Bible necessary for proper moral and civic development and require high school students to pass a class on its doctrines, the International Bible Society said. The ministry has distributed more than 26,000 portions of Scripture in public schools and sponsors seminars to train teachers how to teach biblical principles. Elementary students have received 7,500 copies of a "mini-Bible" featuring illustrations by children across the country. That is in the Czech Republic.

Sad to say, that cannot be said of every country, as the following shows. Scores of Chinese schoolchildren were punished for attending a Sunday school class. About 100 children in Li Xi village attended a class run by a house church, Oklahoma-based Voice of the Martyrs said. Authorities decided to discourage the practice by punishing the children through their local school. Authorities told the principal to come to the Sunday service with them. They stopped the class and told the principal to look at every face very closely. The next week the children who had been in the Sunday school class received corporal punishment, had their grades reduced, and were told not to return to the Sunday school class. Attendance has dropped to about 20 students. (From Voice of Martyrs)

It seems that the people of the Czech Republic have seen the light, but that the Chinese authorities hate the light. And meanwhile, in our enlightened Western society, many prefer to keep their eyes closed.